Poinsettia
by meijing
Summary: Compatibility tests are useless, right? Maybe not ones involving poinsettias and Christmas hopes. Contains Taito, Jyoushiro, and a bit of Somi.


Poinsettia

by meijing

A/N _Nowa-ru _means black, as in the Japanese translation of _noir_, black in French, which all boils down to black, as in coffee with no sugar or cream. (Man, that's a long connection.) DISCLAIMER: Digimon is copyright Toei Animation and its other respective owners, and no matter what the elves in my head say, I am not. Nor am I making any profit off this fiction whatsoever.

-----

"Compatibility tests are so pointless. I mean, they expect us to believe that if we answer a few questions we'll miraculously find our soulmate?" Ishida Yamato stared at the gaudy red and green paper in front of him.

"If it's so stupid then why do you keep filling it out?" asked Kido Jyou, Yamato's best friend. He raised a quizzical black eyebrow over the frames of his glasses. Yamato flashed him his trademark death stare, glaring at him through his blond bangs.

"Because. Someone needs to prove this whole thing's useless." Jyou snorted and ducked the packets of sugar aimed for his head. _Nowa-ru,_ their favorite coffee shop and after school hangout, was pretty busy. _It must be the holiday shopping fever,_ thought Jyou. The sugar whizzed by his blue mane and landed under a nearby table. He fought the urge to pick it up.

A frustrated moan dragged him from his thoughts. "What does it matter what my favorite color is?" Jyou rolled his eyes.

"Quit complaining. You're almost finished." Yamato's sapphire eyes remained on the paper, as if he were concentrating on his entrance exams. Jyou laughed as more sugar came flying his way. "Besides, wouldn't it be odd if your soulmate turned out to be--" he stopped abruptly as Yamato's pale hand wrapped around the creamer. "Okay, okay, the subject's still off-limits. But you have to admit it sometime."

Jyou wasn't all that great at reading people, but he knew his best friend. Yamato wasn't one to openly admit anything, so Jyou had gotten used to reading his glances, his different types of quietness, his gestures. A certain soccer player--Yagami Taichi--sat two rows across, up and to the left in chemistry. When he and Yamato were partnered, explosions usually followed. Jyou thought nothing of it at first, but then he noticed a certain expression on Yamato's face whenever the two were together. Jyou had only seen that expression once, the first time Yamato thought he was in love.

But Taichi wasn't a girl, which made things harder, more complicated. And lately Yamato was glancing more out the window in chem, in Taichi's direction, pretending like he was daydreaming. What had made him fall so hard?

"I'm perfectly happy in denial. And completely finished." He shoved the paper deep within the confines of his backpack. "You know, you should suffer through one of those."

Jyou felt a blush creep up his face. "Actually, I turned mine in yesterday."

Yamato raised a golden eyebrow. "What? I can't believe this! You're the most reasonable person I know." Jyou suddenly found his latte engrossing.

"I hadn't planned on filling one out, but Mimi convinced me."

"Sudden fatal attraction?"

"I didn't mean it like that!" The blush deepened. Yamato already knew Jyou's preferences, and was probably just teasing him. The smirk across the table proved it. "She caught me on the way out of calculus. She handed me one and reminded me, _loudly_, that the results weren't restricted by gender."

Tachikawa Mimi had grown up in the same neighborhood as Jyou. She was more like his little sister than anything, being one year younger, and she had collaborated with Yamato about Jyou's attraction to a certain burgundy-haired vice president of the computer club...

Yamato laughed. "Gotta love that Tachikawa stealth." He paused. "Izumi. Izumi Koushiro, right?"

Jyou looked away and nodded. "Yeah." The affirmation was quiet, almost too low to hear.

"Maybe--" It was Yamato's turn to be cut off.

"Maybe we should start heading back. I've got tons of homework to do."

Yamato nodded and tried not to think of soccer, amber eyes, or stupid compatibility tests.

-----

The soccer ball bounced into the air, ten inches away from the ceiling. Eight. Six. Five. Two. Bam!

"My mom's going to kill you one of these days," warned Koushiro. His bedroom ceiling was littered with scuffs and dents from Taichi's bouncing.

"Sorry. You know I can't sit still."

"Or be on time. Or ever do your homework before midnight. Or remember you keys. Or--"

"Okay, okay, I get the point," Taichi replied, making a face at his best friend. Koushiro returned it and went back to his typing. Taichi sat up from his half on the floor, half on the bed position and grabbed two bright red and green papers from Koushiro's desk. He groaned when he saw that they were the student compatibility test forms. "Don't tell me you're actually going to fill this out."

"It's worth a try."

"You? Mr. Married-to-his-laptop?"

"Yes. Sora gave me a convincing argument before lunch today." Sora had been a close friend since junior high.

"Sora's into that stuff. True love and prince charming and glass slippers. She always has been." Though at first sight she wouldn't appear so, their tomboyish friend was Aphrodite incarnate. She had been trying to find Taichi's and Koushiro's perfect match for years. It didn't help that she frequently conspired with her girlfriend, Tachikawa Mimi. "She just wants to dress us up for the Christmas Ball." The student council was holding a ball this year, and the results would be given out the same night. _How cheesy, _Taichi thought. But he could hear Sora screaming in his head, "_Taichi, you're always playing soccer! And Koushiro, you're always glued to a screen! How do you ever expect to find 'the one' if you never try?" _

He sighed and looked at Koushiro. They must have been thinking of the same thing; he could tell by the grimace on Koushiro's face. "She threatened to throw my laptop off Tokyo Tower, you know. And she threatened to expose your obsession with American musicals."

"I wouldn't doubt that she would." Taichi paused as he thought of the soccer team mock-tap dancing just to get on his nerves. "Besides, it's an interest, not an obsession." He began to chew on the cap of one of his pens. He felt like starting in the middle. "So, favorite color."

-----

Third period chemistry. So close to lunch, and yet so far away. Yamato couldn't help but let his thoughts wander to a patch of hair the color of chocolate. Two rows across, up and to the left.

Yamato found himself looking at his hands. His were so pale, the color of winter. Taichi's were tan, even this late in the year, the color of summer. Yet another difference from a steady growing list. Not that something so irrelevant would ever matter. His bad mood was running away with itself.

_Maybe the chemistry's just in my mind, _he thought. _Pun intended. _They couldn't even hold a conversation. Somehow Yamato always winded up turning their conversations into arguments. Natural--and strange--reaction when he was nervous; he was overly stubborn, overly defensive about everything. Not to mention that the things they might have in common might just be Mimi's imaginings. How would he know?

The fates were apparently conspiring against him, because Yamato's bad mood was doomed for a turn for the worst. Taichi dropped his pen. No big deal. But he happened to look back as he sat up. Back, to the right, and two rows across, right into the blue eyes that were perusing his mop of hair.

Yamato snapped out of his stupor in a flash. The mask--cold, contemptuous disinterest--slid back into its place automatically. It was met with a frown.

Yamato sighed inwardly and turned his attention to the board.

The only chemistry was in the textbook, not between them.

-----

_Ugghh,_ thought Jyou. Mystery sushi day--not good. Maybe Mimi had made bento again. He searched for her familiar pink hair through the clumps of students. Good, she had grabbed a table in the middle of the crowded cafeteria. Or maybe hordes of admirers had rushed to offer it for her. He wouldn't doubt it.

He was smiling at the thought as she waved him over. Sora was there too; no Yamato, though. He was probably in one of his solitary moods; his face was pretty somber in chem.

"Hey, Jyou!" Mimi greeted. Sora mimed a greeting as best she could with noodles in her mouth. Jyou sat and poked his sushi. Something gurgled.

"Maybe they didn't kill everything in there," laughed Sora. Her gaze floated past his head. "Hey Koushiro--over here!" Something dropped in the pit of Jyou's stomach, and it wasn't the sushi. He stole a glance at Mimi--had she set this up?

_What? _read the expression on her face. The star sticker on her cheek sparkled as she smiled.

It took about 2.7 seconds for Koushiro to sit, frown at his sushi, and become entranced with his laptop again. Sora rolled her eyes. "Nice to see you too, Kou." There was a long moment of silence as Mimi looked at Jyou, Sora looked at Koushiro, Jyou looked at the salt, and Koushiro looked at his laptop.

"Hey Kou, you've met Jyou, right?" No response, but the typing quickened. More silence.

Mimi cleared her throat. "I'm so excited about Saturday!" Jyou groaned. The day of the ball.

Sora nodded. "So, how does the poinsettia thingy work again?" Mimi sat up straighter, as if prepared to give a presentation on the principles of astrophysics.

"It's the best. After we get the results from the tests back, we'll give everyone these cute origami poinsettias at the ball. They'll be gold and silver--this is all my idea, you know!" Jyou rolled his eyes. "When you open yours up, the name of your soulmate will be inside."

"Mimi, I have a feeling that you didn't _make_ any of the poinsettias."

She wrinkled her nose. "I made one, and that's enough. We let the art department handle it. And teachers are going to help organize the names--you know, we can't have students messing around with fate. Too risky." Jyou suddenly felt sorry for the students that had hours of origami set out for them and the monotony that the teachers had to deal with. "The point is that there are only a few people that will make it into your 90th percentile. And your soulmate will be the closest match to 100--maybe 100 exactly!"

"Mimi, what are the odds of finding someone that matches you 100?" Jyou jumped; he hadn't been expecting Koushiro to say anything.

"Oh Kou, stop being such a pessimist. Everyone has a soulmate, and who says that yours isn't right under your nose?" The click of a laptop shutting and the scrape of a chair against the floor was his only reply. With a frown and a mumbled "later," he was gone. Jyou suddenly found some loose pieces of rice very interesting.

"Jyou--"

"I think that I've got something to do in the library. See you guys."

Mimi chewed on the bottom of her lip thoughtfully. They were meant for each other, she could _feel _it.

They just needed to realize it.

-----

Yamato tightened the scarf around his neck and took a sip of his macchiato. _Nowa-ru_ had been crowded again, and he had decided that he would rather take a walk around the park. Jyou, covered from head to toe and barely visible, had agreed to come despite his dislike of cold weather.

Yamato didn't care for the cold either, but he'd always choose the cold over a crowd. The lesser of two evils, he supposed. Besides, he needed something to distract him from the approaching ball.

Jyou stopped at a small bridge and looked into the frozen stream below.

"Looking for divine answers?" Yamato asked. Jyou had been lost in thought a lot this week. Whatever was troubling him was all over his face. There was a long silence before he found the words.

"Do we really have soulmates?"

Yamato frowned. The compatibility test had caused more trouble than it was worth. When he didn't reply, Jyou continued. "Even if by some crazy chance the person we're matched to is our 100, does that mean we _have_ to be together? What if one partner doesn't _want_ to be with the other? What if our closest match at school doesn't even come close to 100, or even 50? How long should we wait? And what if we never find 'the one'?"

"Jyou!" Yamato couldn't handle all the questions at once. Jyou was in worry-mode again; he had fixed his onyx gaze on the clouds in the distance. Yamato realized that he would never be good at expressing himself, expect when it came to his music. Guitar strings were so much easier than words.

"It's all about faith, I guess. What you believe in." He paused. "I've always believed that there's someone for me. Someone that's my exact match. So what if that person's not at our school? He's somewhere." Yamato realized that he had admitted out loud that he was looking for a 'he' instead of a 'she.' Minor details, though Jyou probably noticed. "And when I find him, I'll just take it from there. You can't just sit around worrying about it."

Jyou sank deeper into his jacket. "Yeah, I guess you're right."

"Of course I am." He punched Jyou playfully on the arm.

"Well, Wise One, I suppose that your skills are much needed in helping me get ready for this thing." They languidly headed off in the direction of Jyou's house, ignoring the worst-case-scenarios that kept intruding on their thoughts.

-----

Taichi fiddled with the carnation in his jacket. Sora swatted his hand away. "Taichi, you're going to ruin it."

"It's going to die anyway."

Sora let a controlled breath escape from her nose. "Just do what I say." She proceeded to try to make his hair a little less wild. She had been "styling" for the past half hour, with no avail.

_As predicted,_ thought Taichi. "You know, some beasts aren't meant to be tamed." Sora finally tossed the comb onto the bed and walked out the door, her burgundy dress rippling behind her.

"I think I'll try some of your mom's cookies," she said, defeated.

"Suicide isn't the answer!" he yelled. He stood and began fiddling with his carnation again. He wrinkled his nose at his reflection in the mirror. He always thought that he looked like an idiot in a suit. Or like a penguin with a wig on. _South Pole disco! _he thought, striking a pose. Sora came up behind him, laughing.

"I don't think your soulmate would appreciate your bad dancing skills," she joked.

"My _soulmate_ should be ecstatic about being partnered with the most amazing guy in the world."

"Maybe I should bring some aspirin. We'll all need it by the end of the night." He tossed his pillow in her general direction and she caught it, as usual. "Seriously, thanks for coming. I didn't think you would." He didn't reply. "I know you think it's stupid, but it means a lot to Mimi."

He made a huge show of a bad curtsey. "Anything for malady."

She threw the pillow back at him. "Come on, let's go. Can't keep your soulmate waiting!"

-----

The school gym was nearly unrecognizable. Yamato really had to hand it to Mimi; she had done a fantastic job. Of course, he expected it to be magnificent, the way she painstakingly described her decision process to him. The railings on the bleachers were wrapped with silver and golden tinsel that cascaded a few inches onto the floors. There was a cardboard 'waterfall' in the middle of the dance floor, decked with balloons and glitter galore. A fully trimmed tree, medium sized and shining in glory, was positioned near the doors. The lights, red, green and white, cast a soft glow over all the students.

"Did we come to the right school?" joked Jyou. He was in a slightly better mood, but Yamato could tell by his eyes that he was still troubled about the whole soulmate thing. Not that Yamato was completely worry-free.

Mimi was sitting at a table by the tree, looking to all the world like the princess of winter. Her dress was white and silver, and her pink hair was streaked with silver also. She sparkled, literally; she wore a diamond necklace and earrings, and a tiara.

"Wow, Meems. You always go all out, don't you?" Yamato said. He was proud that his friend was the most beautiful girl there. Mimi blushed.

"It fits the occasion. It's going to be an amazing night! Which means that--" she ran her finger down a list of names--"you need to get your poinsettias." She turned to the guy sitting to her right and showed him the numbers. He went and found two silver and golden poinsettias, made especially for Yamato and Jyou.

Yamato held his poinsettia as if it would break. It was numbered and has his name on it, but still he wondered it there might be some mistake, if this weren't really his, if all his results had come out to zero percent...

Jyou scrutinized his as close to his eyes as possible, first with and then without his glasses. "So this is it."

"What? You don't like it?" Mimi asked. She seemed downhearted.

"No, no! It's really amazing, how you got the petals to fold over to hold the name and everything. And the colors. Beautiful!" Jyou replied, quick to answer with anything that came to mind. He was sincere, though.

Mimi beamed. "Don't touch them yet! You've got to wait until ten!"

Yamato wondered what was so special about ten o'clock, but he figured that was when most of the people would get there. One hour away. One hour of waiting. _It doesn't matter, it's just crap, it doesn't matter!" _his mind screamed. A feeling deep in his chest said otherwise.

He made small talk and danced and pretended to not be obsessed with the time. He brushed hands with Taichi at the punch bowl; his breath caught and he hoped that the music was too loud for anyone to hear. The poinsettia in his pocket bothered him. He could have just opened it, but he didn't want to disappoint Mimi. That, and she hounded him every free minute she had.

She squeezed his arm at 9:58. "Look, there's Michiko! She'll be announcing." Her grip tightened. _Why is she so giddy? _thought Yamato. _She already has someone. Wait--this doesn't matter, it's just crap!_

Michiko's green dress increased in intensity as the lights were brightened. "Okay everyone, here's the moment you've all been waiting for!" Mimi let go of Yamato's arm. "Open your poinsettias!"

Everything seemed to slow down. Yamato became suddenly aware that Sora and Taichi were right in front of him; he noticed the familiar disorder of Taichi's hair. He hadn't even raised his hand to open his poinsettia when he heard Sora gasp. He looked up and saw the same look on Taichi's face as in chemistry, a frown that seemed misplaced on his normally happy face. He vaguely heard Sora say breathlessly, "Ishida Yamato, one hundred exactly!"

He did the only thing that seemed to make sense. He turned and bolted, out the double doors and into the night.

Jyou was left amidst his confused friends. He, hesitantly, opened his own. Izumi Koushiro, 100. Looking around, he realized that he hadn't seen Koushiro all night. He obviously didn't believe in this sort of thing. He probably didn't even know Jyou existed.

_'What if one partner doesn't _want_ to be with the other?' _He put the poinsettia in his pocket and turned toward the doors. He made a mental note to call Yamato in the morning to make sure he was okay. That is, if he was okay himself.

-----

Yamato lay staring at the ceiling in his room, done strumming out a long series of melancholy songs on his guitar. Easier than words. The poinsettia was on his desk, but he had lost the incentive to open it. He didn't want to know anymore, because he was Taichi's best match and Taichi didn't care. And what if his was someone he didn't even know? It probably started a cycle of unmatched people. Whose dumb idea was this damn test anyway?

He sighed and picked the flower up again. So maybe he still wanted to know. He twirled it around in his hands and held it up to the light. It glittered in the moonlight. "What does it matter," he murmured, pulling apart the petals. Yagami Taichi.

He threw it against the wall and started playing again.

-----

Eleven sixteen at night, Christmas Eve. Jyou liked to stay up until it was officially Christmas every year since he stopped believing in Santa Claus. He always looked forward to it.

He had finished everything and was just wasting time. There wasn't anything else to do, save sip on his eggnog and surf the internet. He didn't want to do anything that would wake his brother or father.

A metallic 'ping' nearly made him fall out of his chair. _Who sends e-mails this time of night?_ he wondered. _Probably just spam._

His wiped off his glasses and looked at the name again.

FROM: Izumi Koushiro.

-----

Yamato turned off the television; that was enough Christmas specials for one year. Besides, his eyes were getting heavy. He took his time in turning off all the lights, save for the Christmas tree. The tiredness settled over him like the blanket of snow outside the window. The bed was calling him, and he had finally gotten to the point where he didn't lie awake pretending not to think about the golden poinsettia in his desk drawer. He still, however, couldn't bring himself to throw it away.

He absentmindedly snatched a chocolate chip cookie from the platter on the table. Jyou had come over earlier to help, but he wound up eating the dough more than anything. Yamato's favorite pastime and Jyou's favorite cookie. Something to take their mind off things.

Just as he started to go for the blueberry candy canes, there was a knock on the door.

_Who's insane enough to be out this late, in the snow?_

The familiar feeling of time's languor hit him when he saw a patch of chocolate brown hair, windswept and riddled with snowflakes.

-----

_I can't believe this! _Jyou wondered if he was actually at his desk. If his eyes were really open. If the normal rules of physics applied.

They couldn't be; this was a dream. Too much eggnog, or too many of Yamato's cookies. But no matter how much he denied everything, the computer screen still read TO: Kido Jyou, FROM: Izumi Koushiro, SUBJECT: Compatibility.

Jyou tried to think about something else as he double-clicked on the message. He was prepared for the worst.

-----

Yamato's hands were nearly shaking as he unlocked the door. He really wasn't sure what to expect. He went through all the logical possibilities in his head. Maybe Taichi had come to...okay, there weren't any logical possibilities.

This was insane.

He half-hoped that Taichi's face would at least bear a smile, but his expression was far from it. The frown was there again, matched with a pair of disgusted brown eyes.

-----

Dear Jyou:

Do you know the statistics for finding a one hundred percent match in taking a compatibility test? With the limited number of people at our school, the chances are undeniably impossible. Even if we included all the schools in the area, all the schools in Japan, the odds would still be against us.

_Great, an e-mail insulting me for actually trying, _thought Jyou. _As if the night could get worse._

In addition, there seems to be an unstated set of obligations that go along with the results. Are we expected to be with our matches? Are we required to do what's logical and date our best match, or do we wait for our perfect match, though meeting that person is unlikely?

My poinsettia is still sitting by my desk lamp. I don't want to open it.

I'm afraid that it won't be you.

You must think that I'm idiotic. A junior--someone who's never had the courage to have a full conversation with you, someone you probably don't even know exists--confessing everything to you by e-mail.

Sorry for wasting your time.

-----

Leaning against the doorframe, Yamato affected his best nonchalant pose. "A little too late to be caroling."

Taichi rolled his eyes. "Crap, I must have missed the rest of the caroling group." There was a long pause as they stood face to face, eyeing the other down. "You know, you could at least let me in."

Yamato pursed his lips together and moved out of Taichi's way. He noticed that Taichi clutched his poinsettia in his bare hands. He motioned to the couch. "Cookie?"

Taichi shook his head. Yamato could tell that his cheeks were red, even by the dim light coming from the Christmas tree. He sat and crossed his arms, ready for any misery that Taichi was about to throw at him. "If this is about the stupid test you can just--"

"--don't shoot me down before I even start," countered Taichi.

This was going to be a long night.

-----

Jyou ran through the streets of Odaiba, trying his best not to slip on any patches of ice. He would definitely die. He should've borrowed the car; no, running was faster. He shouldn't have woken Mimi up; no, how else would he have gotten Koushiro's address?

Doubt and worry tore his mind apart as he dodged piles of snow inches deep. He would end up in traction, and for what? He didn't even know how Koushiro would react.

He needed to know. Knowing was better than uncertainty, he had always thought. And so he kept reminding himself of that little fact as Koushiro opened his door and led him in his cozy living room. Jyou tried to concentrate on anything but the ebony eyes in front of him as he caught his breath.

Vaguely, he realized that he had no idea what to say. Starting with the basics never hurt. "I-I got your e-mail," he stammered. He pretended that it was the cold and not his nervousness. Koushiro nodded. "Look, um...it doesn't seem as stupid as you think. I mean, I never talked to you either; I was afraid that I'd interrupt whatever you were doing on your laptop. Not that I don't think it's important!" This was going like _all _of his conversations. He was babbling. "Sorry that I'm so awful at this. I've never done it before. But I've always wanted to get to know you. All I know is from Mimi and Sora." Great, now he sounded like a stalker. That, and Koushiro still hadn't said anything or even looked at him. "Koushiro, you were my best match. One hundred percent, but that doesn't mean anything; even if you were my negative four percent I'll still want to get to know you. I'll still want to be with you." That was it; he had reached his Limit of Babbling.

It was several minutes before Koushiro said anything. First there was dead silence, and then Koushiro burst out laughing. Soon he was doubled over, tears streaming down his face. "We're both so stupid!" he choked out. "We've been doing the same thing for months--walking right by and never saying a thing!" He let out another laugh.

Jyou was bewildered. Okay, so this definitely wasn't how all his conversations went. He shook his head and started laughing right along with Koushiro. "This whole situation is stupid!" he said, chuckling. He grabbed Koushiro's hands in a crazy moment of spontaneity and twirled him around the room, forgetting that Koushiro's parents might come in and wonder what they'd been drinking or something. They spun and landed on the couch, and Jyou forget his doubts for a moment and wrapped his arms around Koushiro's waist. Pulled him close.

Koushiro tensed at first and then settled into the embrace. "This is improbable," he mused, still breathless. His nerve endings were on fire from Jyou's touch.

"Yeah, but not for Christmas." After a few minutes of welcome silence, Koushiro jumped up and disappeared down the hall. He returned with his poinsettia in hand.

"Well, I guess it wouldn't hurt to see, would it?" He resumed his position in Jyou's arms and opened the petals; sure enough, the kanji read Kido Jyou. Koushiro let out another laugh.

Jyou tossed the poinsettia behind them as he intertwined their fingers. "Who needs compatibility tests, anyway?" he murmured, leaning back. He was satisfied with getting a Koushiro for Christmas.

-----

The tension in the room was tangible. There seemed to be visible sparks between the two clashing sapphire and amber gazes. "I know that you don't like me," Taichi began.

"You _know_?" Yamato shot. His reply was laced with sarcasm and let Taichi know that he was in dangerous territory. Taichi frowned again.

"Look, let's not turn this into another argument," Taichi pleaded. Yamato let down his guard, little by little, and tried to slow his heart rate down to normal. He looked at Taichi expectantly. "I _think_ you don't like me. What else am I supposed to? We can't even hold a conversation without fighting. You never even speak to me when we're with Sora and Mimi. That, and what happened last week at the ball." The frown gave way to a hurt expression. "I know that you were behind me. I usually know when you're near me." He let out a nervous laugh. "I opened my poinsettia and I guess that when you heard Sora say your name you left. What, you couldn't even stand to be around me now?"

Yamato had no idea what to say; this hadn't been what he was expecting. "Taichi, that's not it," he said quietly.

"Or maybe you hate that you're my perfect match. Forget about it. It's just a stupid quiz anyway." Taichi readjusted his jacket and stood to leave. He ran a hand through his hair. "I guess that I just wanted to let you know that I'm glad you're my match, no matter how annoyed you are about it."

He was a foot from the door before Yamato reacted. "Taichi wait!" he yelled. He sprang from the couch and grabbed Taichi's arm. Their faces were inches apart; he could feel Taichi's breath on his face. "When did I ever say that I hated you?" He searched Taichi's eyes. "I know that we don't get along sometimes. I can't explain why I get so defensive when I'm around you." He looked away. "Maybe it's because I wanted some type of contact with you."

Taichi's expression read nothing but confusion. Yamato frowned and continued. "You're my perfect match for a reason, you know. We just need to find out why."

The gap between them lessened as Taichi leaned to touch Yamato's lips with his own. The chemistry was definitely there, strong and undeniable. "That's why," Taichi whispered.

Christmas day rolled in just time for two couples to receive just what they'd wanted.

Finis.

-----

Hmm...gotta love those schmoompy Christmas 'fics. Hope you liked it--Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, sincerely from meijing!


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